By Ana Batista
If you work with me, you probably have heard me talk about some of these tools before, but here you get an overview of what they are and what I use them for.
Meditation is an essential part of my life. The practice of sitting in silence has proven to be so impactful to my well-being that I consider it as important as to sleep, to eat, or to brush my teeth.
There are many apps to help you to meditate, but because to me silence is an essential part of meditation, this app is my favourite:
You can choose for how long you'd like to meditate, and it guides you in and out of the session with the sound of gongs, and you can also choose its tone if you have the premium version. It also gives you pretty cool statistics about your practice, which is always nice to see.
But if you're just starting with meditation, then I recommend the next one:
It's not my favourite for my daily meditations, but it's an incredible app. I like to use it when I feel like exploring some guided meditations for different purposes, such as creativity, anxiety, or sleep. For beginners, it has a brilliant free ten-day course, which is just perfect for you to start understanding the works of the mind and how to begin meditating.
This is a great little app for those of you who (like me) are addicted to your phone. (Is there anyone left who isn't?)
Moment tells you exactly how much time you're spending per day on your phone, including every time that you automatically turn on the screen just to "check."
I was amazed at how many times I pick it up in a day, even if just for a sec. It's something I wasn't aware of before I started using this little app.
If you're trying to implement some new habit, then you're going to love this one.
Way of Life lets you choose what you'd like to track daily and asks you to check every day, whether you did it or not. So you have a clear view of the things you're doing (and not doing) during your week so that you can adjust your behavior accordingly. You might even find yourself doing something so that you can check it off in the app. That's a win!
If I would buy all the books that I'm curious to read, I'd probably wouldn't have a place to live. Books are one of my biggest addictions (together with hot baths and chocolate), and Blinkist comes as a short "fix," that helps to satiate my immediate curiosity.
It resumes any book (available at their extensive library) into main points, giving you an overview of the most relevant ideas of an entire book in just 4 to 5 minutes of reading. That's quite sweet in today's fast pace consumption, though it naturally doesn't overwrite the experience of slow reading an entire book.
I cannot say it enough, what a lovely piece of software. Grammarly is without a doubt one of my favorite work tools. Almost everything I write passes through Grammarly first. I was amazed at the number of small mistakes I discovered in my writing and very grateful to have a proofreader at my disposal 24/7. It didn't take long before I purchased the premium version and I think that every cent is worth for this amazing help. You can try the free version here, and see it for yourself.
This is a recent discovery and, while I'm still just starting to explore it, I'm happy to have found it.
I love the calming minimalist background, the soothing sounds (sometimes; I mostly like to write in silence), and the clutter-free space to think and write. I'd say for the price it costs, and for someone who loves to write as much as I do, it's a no-brainer.
This little app is just the cutest. You chose how much time you'd like to focus, and during that time it doesn't let you use your phone, and it plants a little tree for you. So the more you concentrate, the more trees you get to grow in your little garden. And, if you focus enough and like the idea, they even plant real trees! It's a cool app to use if you struggle with procrastination (who doesn't?).
This is a big one, and I'm sure you've heard of it before. It's another one of those which I don't know how I used to live without. It's like a second brain where all ideas, notes, findings, and drafts go, plus it has fantastic features to help you organize your information and work on it. I think Evernote probably doesn't need introductions.
If you haven't yet, check it out here, and get a free month of Evernote Premium.
Asana is like a to-do list on steroids. I have all my projects laid out on Asana, and it feels great to be able to see everything I'm planning to do, and when I'd like to do it, in a clear and organized way.
It's where I also like to brainstorm about what are the necessary and detailed steps to complete a project (rather than just working "with the flow"), which is something that I was not so used to do before I started using Asana, and it's obviously a crucial part of project management.
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